Map of Me Blog

This new study may have finally uncovered why ladies are under-represented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) careers.

The authors begin by showing that even in thee most gender equal societies in the world, females make up only 25% of STEM graduates.

But this under-representation isn’t, as some have suggested over the years, because the girls can’t hack math and science. On the contrary, the ladies actually scored in the same neighborhood as the fellas in STEM-related subjects. But that’s not all the ladies did. They also kicked the boys rear ends big time in areas like reading.

So the ladies can hold their own when it comes to STEM, and they do way more than just hold their own when it comes to non-STEM.

Which means they have plentiful options when it comes to career paths. And lots of them follow their guidance counselors advice to "do what you're best at". Which can be interpreted as "head to the areas where you're the most advanced relative to your peers". So, logically, many of these multi-talented young ladies choose non-STEM career paths.

Makes perfect sense.

One last point. This is yet another example of “common wisdom” being probably wrong. If you’d like to read a few past posts that attack other wrong stories see below…

“I love employees that are deep in debt. They’ll do whatever I tell them to do."

Yes, he was a manipulative scumbag, but at least he was transparent. And, truth be told, I owe him a thank you. His creepy words helped sharpen our focus on getting out of debt and staying that way for the rest of our lives.

To make sure our kids learned that same lesson early in life, we asked each of them to read Debt Is Slavery before they got out of high school. It's a short and simple look at some of the downsides of debt.

And, while it's not a best seller by any means, they did manage to read it cover to cover. Even shared it with some friends. And still occasionally talk about it. So I'm passing this along in hopes that maybe your kids will like it too.

If they want something a little deeper, there’s another simple read I’d recommend - Your Money Or Your Life. This was the book we read 25+ years ago after being exposed to that scumbag boss that bragged about using debt to manipulate people. It helped us get our finances in order which allowed us to take some career risks that eventually paid off handsomely.

I can't guarantee your kids will have the same results, but at least they’ll be exposed to a healthier perspective on money.